Latest news with #illicitcigarettes
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong seizes HK$13 million of illicit cigarettes, as culprits flee in speedboats
Hong Kong marine police and customs have seized about HK$13 million (US$1.6 million) worth of illicit cigarettes in two anti-smuggling operations that saw the culprits escape in speedboats. Police said on Sunday that their Marine Regional Task Force joined up with officers from the marine enforcement division of the Customs and Excise Department to conduct the operations in the waters off Stanley and the New Territories. In the first case, officers discovered two speedboats without navigation lights approaching the pier near Tai Tam Bay in Stanley. At the same time, several men were seen moving goods between the speedboats and a truck on the shore, police said. When the officers took action, the suspects immediately jumped into the speedboats and headed into Hong Kong's southern waters. Marine police attempted to mount a pursuit. But the force said the speedboat fled in the direction of mainland Chinese waters and disappeared 'without a trace'. In the second operation, officers found another pair of speedboats driving at high speed without navigation lights near Double Island in the northeast of the New Territories.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- BBC News
Dog sniffs out illegal vapes and cigarettes in cars in Dunstable
A sniffer dog has found hundreds of illegal vapes, cigarettes and pouches of tobacco stashed in a followed a raid by Bedfordshire Police, HMRC and Luton Borough Council trading standards on a shop in Dunstable on a nearby supermarket car park, 109 illegal vapes, 401 packets of illicit cigarettes and 57 pouches of counterfeit tobacco were found in a blue Ford Fiesta thanks to a tobacco dog from Wagtails UK.A follow-up search of a silver Ford Fiesta at the rear of the raided shop uncovered 191 illegal vapes. HMRC officers seized all the items and the vehicle in the car park, police said. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Bloomberg
08-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
BAT Says South Africa Losing $1.6 Billion to Illicit Cigarettes
South Africa has become one of the world's biggest markets for illicit cigarette sales losing around 28 billion rand ($1.6 billion) a year to tax evasion, according to a new report. While Africa's most industrialized economy has long struggled to prevent cigarettes being smuggled from neighboring countries, domestic manufacturers have also increased under-the-counter production, spurred by the country's pandemic-era cigarette ban.
BBC News
03-07-2025
- BBC News
Dog sniffs out illegal vapes and Viagra in Tower Hamlets
A sniffer dog is being hailed a "hero" after uncovering a stash of illicit cigarettes, vapes and unlicensed erectile dysfunction tablets during an enforcement operation in east patrolling with trading standards officers on 11 June in Whitechapel, Skye, a specially trained four-year old springer spaniel, detected suspicious smells coming from a locked box attached to the back of a bike outside a Hamlets councillor Abu Talha Chowdhury said such products could be really dangerous and "had no place on our high streets"."I'd like to thank our trading standards team and Skye who played a hero's role in helping to keep our communities safe," he said. What looked like an ordinary bike box used for deliveries, turned out to contain illicit goods, Tower Hamlets Council to Skye's sense of smell, officers were able to seize:33 packets of illicit cigarettes7 packets of smokeless tobacco14 pouches of hand-rolling tobacco24 illegal vapes80 unlicensed erectile tablets The discovery was part of a two-day crackdown targeting the sale of counterfeit and unsafe products, which in total led to the seizure of:5,840 illicit cigarettes (292 packets)418 assorted illegal vapes2,055 packets of chewing tobacco80 unlicensed and potentially dangerous erectile dysfunction tablets The dog patrol service is part of Tower Hamlets' £8m Anti-Crime Task Force - a joint effort with the police to tackle crime and disorder. The initiative was launched to boost community safety and support police officers with weapons sweeps, drug disruption and vehicle Chowdhury added: "We take a proactive approach to smoke out illegal trading in Tower Hamlets and regularly use sniffer dogs, so there's no place for such trading to hide."
